New research has revealed 1.8 million new rental homes will need to be built in the UK by 2025.

A study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows buy-to-let sales have dropped sharply since May, with 58% of RICS estate agents reporting a decline.

In addition, 86% of landlords have no plans to increase their rental portfolio over the next five years, which RICS says will make a 2025 rental supply crisis "more likely".

The drop in sales has been attributed to Government changes to the Stamp Duty threshold, which aimed to dampen demand for buy-to-let investments. However, RICS said this has further reduced supply.

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The organisation has now urged Prime Minister Theresa May to "get out her hard hat" or face a "critical rental shortage".

It is calling for the PM to abandon David Cameron's previous home ownership focus and reverse April's Stamp Duty measures in order to address short term rental supply issues.

Jeremy Blackburn, RICS Head of UK Policy, said: "Our latest figures show that there has been a 15% decline in house sales to first time buyers over recent months. That tells us that for all the rhetoric, David Cameron and George Osbourne's Starter Homes Strategy failed to get off the ground.

"The Private Rented Sector became a scapegoat under the previous Prime Minister, and because of that it suffered. Yet with increasingly unaffordable house prices, the majority of British households will be relying on the rental sector in the future. We must ensure that it is fit for purpose, and the Government must put in place the measures that will allow the rental sector to thrive. Any restrictions on supply will push up rents, marginalising those members of society who are already struggling."

(LM/CD)